Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Monday 14th April

In this Bulletin…

- Darfur marks five years of violence;
- Haiti’s Government falls; and
- China accuses media of being too critical.

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Rebels in war torn Darfur said on Sunday that they had attacked an army base in West Darfur, killing a large number of soldiers in a renewal of fighting in the troubled area near Sudan’s western border with Chad.

West Darfur has seen the worst fighting between the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Darfur’s most militarily powerful rebels, and the government, with more than 100 people killed in clashes in February.

Protests around the world to mark five years of war in Darfur drew thousands of people over the weekend.

International experts estimate some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million been driven from their homes since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in Darfur five years ago.

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The government of Haiti fell this weekend when senators fired the prime minister after more than a week of riots over food prices, ignoring a plan presented by the president to slash the cost of rice.

Sixteen of 17 senators at a special session voted against Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis, an ally President Rene Preval placed at the head of a coalition cabinet in June 2006 that was meant to unite the fractious Caribbean nation.

The move by opposition senators was seen as a serious but not crushing blow to Preval, whose 2006 election brought a measure of calm to the poorest country in the Americas as it searched for political stability after decades of dictatorship, military rule and economic mayhem.

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China’s ambassador to London, Fu Ying, has accused the Western media of demonising China and says there are “complicated problems” in Tibet.

Many of the visitors from China who were in London last week felt that Britain was against them, she added.

Ms Fu said in the Sunday Telegraph that Tibet is “loved” by the Chinese.
The ambassador wrote: “I am concerned that mutual perceptions between the people of China and the West are quickly drifting in opposite directions.

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Meanwhile, China has arrested nine Tibetan Buddhist monks who it says bombed a government building in Tibet.

State media reported that the monks were part of a monastery in the Himalayan town of Gyanbe where the bombing was carried out on March 23.

In recent days, China has ratcheted up its claims that a “clique” loyal to exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is behind the violence in Tibet.

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The head of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, has warned that the rapid rise in food prices could push 100 million people in poor countries deeper into poverty.

His warning follows that from the leader of the International Monetary Fund, who said hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of starvation.

Mr Zoellick’s proposal for a “new deal” to tackle the international food crisis was endorsed by the World Bank’s steering committee of finance and development ministers at a meeting in Washington.

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Yesterday South Korea confirmed its latest case of bird flu as the deadly H5N1 strain, adding to a string of outbreaks in recent weeks which led to the culling of more than half a million poultry.

The latest confirmation was in the county of Yeongam in South Jeolla province, 320 km south of Seoul and about 100 km from the area in a neighbouring province where the first outbreak since a year ago was reported on April 3.

Culling of poultry at about 20 farms in the region is already complete while quarantine officials continue tests on other suspected cases, the South Jeolla provincial livestock office said in a statement.

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And now for our daily update on the NTDTV Divine Performing Arts “New Year Spectacular” show.
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Today the Divine Performing Arts Spectacular will open in Adelaide for two days of shows before leaving Australia for New Zealand on Thursday.

Another troupe will commence shows in Milan, Italy tomorrow.

The Divine Performing Arts Troupe’s New York and Global Tour teams have been touring for 4 months now as they circle the globe on their tour of over 60 cities around the world.

According to the Divine Performing Arts Troupe, the global tour will reach approximately 650,000 attendees worldwide.

According to Li Zhong, the President of NTDTV who produce the Spectacular, the essence of traditional Chinese culture, such as respect for Heaven, virtue, morality and sincerity, are gradually becoming extinct today. As the Divine Performing Arts Troupe tours around the world, it will revive the long-forgotten divine traditional Chinese culture on stage.

For more information about the Divine Performing Arts world tour, please visit: www.divineperformingarts.org

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“Asia Cast… keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the World.”